Writing...at one's own peril

Writers 'at greater risk of depression', survey finds | Books | guardian.co.uk: "Writing is one of the top 10 professions in which people are most likely to suffer from depression, with men particularly at risk from the illness, according to US website health.com.

The site puts artists and writers among the most vulnerable of professionals, alongside other 'at risk' jobs including care workers, teachers, social workers, maintenance staff and salespeople.

Irregular pay and isolation contribute to the propensity for writers to succumb to depression, says the site, with nearly 7% of male artists and writers likely to suffer a major episode of the illness.

Novelist Simon Brett, who has acknowledged his own struggles with depression, agreed with the tenor of the findings, citing writer suicides including Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemingway, Anne Sexton and Arthur Koestler."